public lands

US busts alleged Sinaloa Cartel smuggling ring in Arizona

Posted on November 1st, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

TucsonState, local and federal law enforcement in Arizona announced Oct. 31 that they have dismantled a smuggling ring allegedly operated by the Sinaloa Cartel, which is believed to have trafficked some $2 billion of drugs from Mexico through the state over the past five years. "We in Arizona continue to stand and fight the Mexican drug cartels, who think they own the place," Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said in a statement about the investigation, dubbed Operation Pipeline Express. A total of 76 individuals are being held in connection to the ring, from organizational bosses to stash-house guards to those who transported the drugs in backpacks and in vehicles. Weapons and large bundles of compacted cannabis were seized in the raids.

Mexican cartels in Emerald Triangle: real or hype?

Posted on September 1st, 2011 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , .

CaliforniaAn Aug. 31 report on PBS NewsHour provides mixed indications on recent hype about the supposed presence of Mexican drug cartels in the cannabis trade of Northern California's Emerald Triangle—which has now been officially designated a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the federal government. In the Mendocino National Forest, which has seen unprecedented raids this year, 10 Mexican nationals are among the approximately 100 arrested. Last year, Mendocino County saw a record-breaking number of armed confrontations during marijuana raids—"many with Mexican nationals with suspected links to drug gangs across the border." Two Mexican nationals were killed in last year's raids—one, named Mariano Fernández, reportedly after he aimed an "AK-47-type rifle" at a police SWAT team.

Police hunt suspects after massive haul in Wisconsin national forest

Posted on August 13th, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

cannabisWisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced Aug. 11 that six suspects—five Mexican nationals and one US citizen—were arrested in connection with a large-scale cannabis cultivation operation in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Officers from federal, state and local enforcement agencies eradicated some 10,000 plants over several acres about 25 miles northwest of Park Falls. Law enforcement was alerted by a hunter’s tip last November. About 175 agents were involved in the operation, which uncovered the crops and a campsite used by the growers, where loaded firearms were reportedly found. Ashland County residents have been warned not to pick up hitchhikers as agents continue to search for four suspects.

Unprecedented raids in Southern California forests

Posted on August 1st, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

CaliforniaPark rangers announced the seizure in late July of more than 3,500 cannabis plants over a nine-acre swath in the heart of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The National Park Service said the plots were scattered across an area near Zuma and Trancas canyons, south of Mulholland Highway. Earlier in the month, Ventura County Sheriff's officials announced the largest single seizure of cannabis plants in their jurisdiction, from an outdoor grow operation in the Pine Mountain area of Los Padres National Forest. The raid  in the rugged mountains north of Ojai netted 68,500 plants valued at $205.46 million, according to a sheriff's statement. No suspects were arrested. The season total for seized cannabis in Ventura County is over 100,000 plants. (Thousand Oaks Acorn, July 28; LAT, July 18; KEYT, Santa Barbara, July 15; LAT, July 14)

Unprecedented raids across Mendocino National Forest

Posted on July 26th, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

CaliforniaA massive, six-county cannabis eradication operation targeting Northern California's Mendocino National Forest is currently underway, with a multi-agency task force of hundreds of state, federal and county officers claiming seizures of some 292,000 plants and 77 arrests. "At this point, the operation is going as planned. We're making very good progress," said Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman. Raids are taking place simultaneously in Mendocino, Lake, Colusa, Glenn, Tehama, and Trinity counties, which all contain portions of the Mendocino National Forest.

Mexican cartel grow op in Wisconsin national forest?

Posted on August 13th, 2010 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

cannabisAuthorities have uncovered a marijuana "megafarm" hidden in northern Wisconsin's Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Oconto County Sheriff Mike Jansen estimated officers seized some 50,000 plants, but state Attorney General JB Van Hollen cautioned that authorities are still counting and the number currently stood closer to 10,000. Authorities are said to believe that a Mexican cartel, wanting to grow the product to closer to US markets, is responsible. Eight Latino men were reportedly arrested. (AP, Aug. 12)

The Rainbow Gathering

Posted on March 11th, 2010 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , .

Every year since 1972, the Rainbow Family of Living Light has been holding its Summer gathering in the National Forests of the United States, bouncing to a different state each year, from coast to coast. A loose network of hippie tribes that celebrate their diversity, the Rainbow People caravan cross-country for the annual back-to-nature affair that starts building in June and climaxes with a silent meditation for world peace when the rest of America is setting off fireworks on July 4.

 

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